Jung von Matt/next founded?
This is a question of expertise and a question of organization. On the one hand, we want to expand our expertise in the area of digital platforms. In the future, we want to be able to cover brand experiences end-to-end, from the campaign to the website. On the other hand, we need an organizational structure that can reconcile the day-to-day business from the classic sector and the project business from the online sector. The foundation of Jung von Matt/next enables us to do this.

Why is the expansion of competencies taking place under a new name and not within the agency?
Jung von Matt/next is a competence cell within the agency. But with the new name, we are also giving the agency its own identity to position itself in the market.

The advantage of a separate unit is certainly also to be able to acquire customers outside the network.
We already serve half a dozen digital clients today. With Jung von Matt/next, we can expand this portfolio further.

How many people does Jung von Matt/next employ?
We already employ 20 digital experts from the areas of creation, development, consulting, production, social media and public relations. In addition, there are five further specialists.

How does the cooperation between the units work?
In the future, we will develop cross-media campaigns together with Jung von Matt/next. The conception and realization of platforms will take place centrally at Jung von Matt/next.

Jung von Matt/next cooperates with Hamburg. In what way?
Whenever necessary, our digital specialists can draw on the expertise and resources of colleagues in Hamburg. However, the conception continues to take place in Switzerland. The cooperation is not entirely new. We have already worked with Jung von Matt/next in Germany on one project or another in the past. "Webwandering" for Graubünden, to name just one example.

JvM/Limmat functions relatively self-sufficiently, although there is a German parent company. Will the cooperation with JvM/next now generally be expanded?
Jung von Matt/Limmat is still an owner-managed agency with the majority of shares in Switzerland. This will not change with the founding of Jung von Matt/next.

In recent months, various online agencies have added classic know-how and become full-service providers. What does this mean for JvM/Limmat as an established agency?
We took the step away from the classic agency a long time ago. With a PR unit that is 14 years old and an online unit that is 13 years old. We now wanted to take another big step forward.

To what extent does the new addition have to do with the departure of creative directors Fernando Perez and Livio Dainese, who were responsible for the "Obermutten" social media project?
The answer to the departure of Fernando Perez and Livio Dainese is Andy Lusti and Maurus Zehnder (Werbewoche.ch reported). With them, two experienced creatives have slipped in. The plans for a digital competence cell have been in place for some time. We have always been aware that simply merging online and offline is not enough.

Markus Schärer led the integration of digital specialists into the agency at Wirz. To what extent is it important for you that Schärer has already worked at a traditional agency?
The fact that Markus knows how day-to-day business works in a traditional agency was certainly a decisive factor. With him, I sense a great openness towards classic advertising. It's not easy to integrate different disciplines. Onliners and offliners have a different way of thinking. In the digital sector, development and design takes place over many weeks. In the classic area, there are deadline thinkers. Both areas require different processes, different management and resource planning.

Where is Jung von Matt/next headed?
We want to establish ourselves as a specialist for strategy, conception, creation and realization of interactive brand experiences in the field of promotion websites, corporate websites, mobile applications and interface design. To this end, we are also increasing our staff.

Will the personnel reinforcement come from Hamburg or Switzerland?
We will strengthen ourselves with two or three more experts from Switzerland.

(Interview: Isabel Imper)

 

Under the leadership of OFCOM, network operators such as Swisscom, Sunrise and UPC Cablecom have compiled their data on Internet services in Switzerland, as OFCOM Director Martin Dummermuth explained to the media in Bern on Thursday. The result is an interactive Swiss map that provides high-resolution information on the available Internet connections. Interested parties can find out more on the portal Broadbandatlas.ch to see which download and upload speeds are available where.

You can also see whether a location is already connected with fiber optics or cable or whether only a copper wire is available. The Internet providers available in a location are also listed. Users can view the provider's offerings via a link on the provider's website. This should give consumers an idea of the competitive situation, as Armin Blum from Bakom said.

Front runner Switzerland

According to the latest figures, Switzerland has the highest penetration of broadband Internet connections among OECD countries. More than 40 out of every 100 inhabitants have a subscription for a broadband connection. Broadband not only brings faster Internet, but is also necessary for high-definition television.

However, the infrastructure for fast internet is lacking in more remote areas - as a look at the new atlas shows. The network operators are working on expanding the broadband lines. In some cases, however, the municipalities also have to take action in order to achieve broadband access.

To this end, Bakom has updated its guide "Paths to the data highway". It uses examples to show how municipalities can ensure that they are connected to the Internet world. On the website High-bandwidth.ch a kind of marketplace is also to be created: Consultancy firms can offer their services there. Bakom will also make information available there. (SDA)
 

This is what Aargauerzeitung.ch writes on Thursday. According to figures from the independent Swiss measurement institute Net-Metrix, Srf.ch generated 15.8 percent fewer page impressions last December than Drs.ch and Sf.tv combined. The comparison of January 2013 with the same month last year is even more massive: The slump in page impressions is a minus of 29.2 percent.

SRF is not worried about the decline: "Unlike an Internet newspaper, page impressions are not central to SRF, as the focus is on our core business of audio and video," writes company spokesman Jonathan Engmann in response to an inquiry from the Aargauer Zeitung. At the same time, SRF points to the increase in unique clients. As Engmann tells the Aargauer Zeitung, Srf.ch recorded an increase of around 100,000 unique clients from December 2012 to January 2013. But before that, the number of hits had already fallen by 264,000 from November to December 2012.

Teaser image: Srf.ch

Within five years, the daily, Sunday and general press titles have lost no less than CHF 540 million of their total advertising revenue. As the chart "Loss of value since 2007 by segment" shows, the daily press accounted for the lion's share of 62.4 percent (around CHF 337 million) - which is hardly surprising given that it still has a market share of over 50 percent. As a result, the market share of the daily press fell by 1.3 points to 57.9%. With a percentage loss of 30.5 percent, this title segment also accounts for the overall loss of 28.9 percent since 2007. However, the financial and business press suffered by far the highest percentage loss at 48.3%. This is also, but not only, due to the discontinuation of Cash (in mid-2007) and Cash Daily (in March 2009). By contrast, the percentage losses of the Sunday press (-26.4%), the general press (-24.0%) and the regional weekly press (-19.9%) were below average.

Highest losses in German-speaking Switzerland

In view of the importance of the daily press and the new launches in the Sunday press, these two title segments in particular will be analyzed in more detail below. The page volumes must be used for this purpose. As the chart "Page losses in the daily press" shows, the greatest percentage losses occurred in German-speaking Switzerland, while they were significantly lower in southern Switzerland. This applies both in comparison with 2007 and the previous year and both for the total volume and for the particularly volatile job advertisements, which are also most affected by online substitution. Since 2007, over 60 percent of the job volume has been lost overall and in German-speaking Switzerland, and over 50 percent in western and southern Switzerland. In terms of total volume, the figure has been over 30 percent overall and in the two larger language regions since 2007, and over 20 percent in southern Switzerland.

The chart "Development of daily press page volume" shows that the losses occurred in two stages. In 2009, over 34,600 pages or 18.9 percent of the total advertising volume were lost. Of these, around 15,000 pages were job advertisements, reducing their volume by 47.3 percent. The daily press then suffered its second decline last year. Compared to 2011, the total volume fell again by 11.7 percent or around 17,000 pages. The volume of jobs fell by almost a quarter or 3,700 pages. This results in a total loss of around 58,000 advertising pages or 31.3 percent since 2007 - practically the same percentage loss as in terms of value (see above). Around a third of this loss is attributable to job advertisements. Their volume has shrunk by no less than 63 percent since 2007.

Tamedia in trouble

A look at the title level reveals a dramatic picture (see charts "Development of advertising volume Big7 German-speaking Switzerland" and "Change in advertising volume Big7 German-speaking Switzerland").

The Tages-Anzeiger alone (including Alpha) has lost no less than two thirds of its advertising volume, or around 8,000 pages, since 2007. Around 42 percent of this was accounted for by job advertisements. This puts it practically on a par with the NZZ (including NZZ Executive), which has "only" lost a good third since 2011. Tamedia's second major regional newspaper in German-speaking Switzerland has also suffered above-average losses. The Berner Zeitung lost almost half of its volume or around 2,300 pages. More than half of this was accounted for by job advertisements. While the BZ was still in fourth place in 2007 with 4825 pages behind Tages-Anzeiger (12,269 pages), NZZ (6704 pages) and 20 Minuten (5065 pages), it slipped to sixth place in 2012 behind St. Galler Tagblatt and Neue Luzerner Zeitung. With regard to the St. Galler Tagblatt, however, it should be noted that in 2007 the page count of the St. Gallen city edition was still reported, whereas in 2012 it was that of the Thurgauer Zeitung with an apparently higher number of advertisements that are only placed in this split edition. This is of course one reason for the below-average loss. However, Nordwestschweiz also suffered an above-average loss of 43.2 percent compared to 2007, while practically all major titles lost roughly the same amount compared to 2011.

Nouvelliste is the new number 1

In Western Switzerland, on the other hand, the trend is far less uniform (see charts "Development of advertising volume Big7 Western Switzerland" and "Change in advertising volume Big7 Western Switzerland "). The steep fall until 2009 and the subsequent short-term rise is mainly due to the discontinuation of Le matin bleu on September 21, 2009. The main beneficiaries of this were 24 heures and Tribune de Genève. However, as the further course of the curve shows, this was only a flash in the pan. Tribune de Genève then plummeted completely and is now in last place together with Le matin. Since 2007, it has lost no less than 1470 pages or 42.6 percent of its advertising volume. Of these, 400 pages (27%) were job advertisements. At 24 heures, 43 percent of the loss of 1305 pages is due to job advertisements. In 2007, the Vaud regional newspaper still had the second most advertising pages with 3,584 pages, just behind Le Temps. Now it has fallen back to fourth place. The relative loss of around 36 percent is exactly the same as for Le Temps, which still had the highest number of advertisements in 2007 with 3623 pages and last year, with 2323 pages, published exactly the same number of advertisement pages as 20 minutes, which has "only" lost 16.4 percent since 2007. The Valais Nouvelliste also lost less than average, with 2720 pages in 2012, clearly the largest advertising section of all the daily newspapers in French-speaking Switzerland. In 2007, however, it was still in fifth place. All titles in French-speaking Switzerland suffered a significant loss from 2011 to 2012, although in percentage terms, Le Temps lost significantly less than the other major titles.

20 Minuti holds a quarter

The development in Ticino is also interesting - especially after the launch of 20 minuti. As the chart "Development of advertising volumes in southern Switzerland" shows, there was an initial slump from 2008 to 2009, similar to that in German-speaking Switzerland. Compared to 2007, the loss was most pronounced at market leader Corriere del Ticino. Since then, it has lost almost 1,800 of its then 4,000 advertising pages. This corresponds to a drop of 45.2 percent. LaRegione and Giornale del Popolo each lost around 40 percent, which is probably roughly equivalent to the loss of Tre Top Ticino. Compared to 2011, La Regione lost more (41.3%) than Corriere (36%) - even though Corriere lost around twice as many pages of its significantly higher advertising volume. Giornale del Popolo was the least affected in both absolute and relative terms. Together, the three titles linked by an advertising combination lost 2,300 advertising pages compared to the previous year. The main reason for this is certainly 20 minuti, which had 1532 advertising pages in its first full year. This results in a market share of 26.3 percent. The new commuter paper thus leaves LaRegione (22.5%) and Giornale (14.1%) behind. Corriere is already visible on the horizon with 37.1 percent. However, it is rather unlikely that it will catch up with or even overtake it. This is because its reach of 24.5% (compared to Corriere's 42.7%) is still too weak, at least for the time being. However, if this is to be increased, the addition of Corriere (now including Giornale) will result in a higher CPM than the combination of all paid daily newspapers in Ticino (see MTJ 4/12, page 54).

Sunday: a quarter gone

There has also been movement in the Sunday newspapers since 2007. On September 16, 2007, the seventh edition of the Mittelland Zeitung (now Nordwestschweiz) was published for the first time under the name "Der Sonntag". And on September 7, 2008, a seventh edition of the Neue Luzerner Zeitung, Zentralschweiz am Sonntag, was launched for the first time. Despite these additional offerings, the advertising volume of all titles shrank by a total of 1996 pages or 26 percent (all figures excluding job advertisements). If the two new titles are excluded, there was a loss of 2670 pages or 36.1 percent. The losses of Le Matin Dimanche (-32.2%) and Il Cafè della Domenica (-30.4%) were only slightly lower. In German-speaking Switzerland, the new launches of Sonntag and Zentralschweiz am Sonntag practically coincided with the fall in advertising volume from 2008 to 2009 (see above). Between 2007 and 2009, the three titles with regional distribution lost around a third of their advertising volume or 1,853 pages. Since then, the situation has remained relatively calm. Only 207 additional pages have been lost. As the chart "Development of Sunday advertising volume in German-speaking Switzerland" shows, the Sonntags Zeitung has fallen from first to third place since 2007. It has lost more than half of its advertising volume in this period. The new market leader since 2008 is SonntagsBlick - despite losing over a third of its advertising volume. NZZ am Sonntag has lost the least at 31.4 percent (see chart "Changes in Sunday advertising volume in German-speaking Switzerland").

NZZ Group leads on Sunday

As a result of these different developments and the new regional titles, the market share of SonntagsZeitung fell from 33.2 to 20.5 percent and that of SonntagsBlick from 31.9 to 27.0 percent. NZZ am Sonntag suffered the least damage, falling from 25.4 to 22.9 percent. Together with its own Zentralschweiz am Sonntag, the NZZ Group even holds a third of the Sunday market (see chart "Sunday market shares"). And with the launch of Ostschweiz am Sonntag on March 3, this supremacy will increase further. At 10.5 percent, the decline for Zentralschweiz am Sonntag compared to the first full year (2009) is limited. Südostschweiz is still at the bottom of the table in the "second league". However, it is the only title to record more advertisements in 2012 than in 2007, although the trend has been slightly downwards again since 2010. This also applies to Sonntag, which has already lost 30 percent of its advertising volume compared to the first full year (2008). This raises the question of which of the two partners of the new "Schweiz am Sonntag" is the smaller one. Compared to its weak reach of just 2.4 percent, the title from Chur has an above-average number of advertising pages. It will be interesting to see how the announced merger of Sonntag and Südostschweiz am Sonntag will affect the advertising volume of the new Schweiz am Sonntag. More on this merger can be found in the next Advertising Week. <

Within five years, the daily, Sunday and general press titles have lost no less than CHF 540 million of their total advertising revenue. As the chart "Loss of value since 2007 by segment" shows, the daily press accounted for the lion's share of 62.4 percent (around CHF 337 million) - which is hardly surprising given that it still has a market share of over 50 percent. As a result, the market share of the daily press fell by 1.3 points to 57.9%. With a percentage loss of 30.5 percent, this title segment also accounts for the overall loss of 28.9 percent since 2007. However, the financial and business press suffered by far the highest percentage loss at 48.3%. This is also, but not only, due to the discontinuation of Cash (in mid-2007) and Cash Daily (in March 2009). By contrast, the percentage losses of the Sunday press (-26.4%), the general press (-24.0%) and the regional weekly press (-19.9%) were below average.

Highest losses in German-speaking Switzerland

In view of the importance of the daily press and the new launches in the Sunday press, these two title segments in particular will be analyzed in more detail below. The page volumes must be used for this purpose. As the chart "Page losses in the daily press" shows, the greatest percentage losses occurred in German-speaking Switzerland, while they were significantly lower in southern Switzerland. This applies both in comparison with 2007 and the previous year and both for the total volume and for the particularly volatile job advertisements, which are also most affected by online substitution. Since 2007, over 60 percent of the job volume has been lost overall and in German-speaking Switzerland, and over 50 percent in western and southern Switzerland. In terms of total volume, the figure has been over 30 percent overall and in the two larger language regions since 2007, and over 20 percent in southern Switzerland.

The chart "Development of daily press page volume" shows that the losses occurred in two stages. In 2009, over 34,600 pages or 18.9 percent of the total advertising volume were lost. Of these, around 15,000 pages were job advertisements, reducing their volume by 47.3 percent. The daily press then suffered its second decline last year. Compared to 2011, the total volume fell again by 11.7 percent or around 17,000 pages. The volume of jobs fell by almost a quarter or 3,700 pages. This results in a total loss of around 58,000 advertising pages or 31.3 percent since 2007 - practically the same percentage loss as in terms of value (see above). Around a third of this loss is attributable to job advertisements. Their volume has shrunk by no less than 63 percent since 2007.

Tamedia in trouble

A look at the title level reveals a dramatic picture (see charts "Development of advertising volume Big7 German-speaking Switzerland" and "Change in advertising volume Big7 German-speaking Switzerland").

The Tages-Anzeiger alone (including Alpha) has lost no less than two thirds of its advertising volume, or around 8,000 pages, since 2007. Around 42 percent of this was accounted for by job advertisements. This puts it practically on a par with the NZZ (including NZZ Executive), which has "only" lost a good third since 2011. Tamedia's second major regional newspaper in German-speaking Switzerland has also suffered above-average losses. The Berner Zeitung lost almost half of its volume or around 2,300 pages. More than half of this was accounted for by job advertisements. While the BZ was still in fourth place in 2007 with 4825 pages behind Tages-Anzeiger (12,269 pages), NZZ (6704 pages) and 20 Minuten (5065 pages), it slipped to sixth place in 2012 behind St. Galler Tagblatt and Neue Luzerner Zeitung. With regard to the St. Galler Tagblatt, however, it should be noted that in 2007 the page count of the St. Gallen city edition was still reported, whereas in 2012 it was that of the Thurgauer Zeitung with an apparently higher number of advertisements that are only placed in this split edition. This is of course one reason for the below-average loss. However, Nordwestschweiz also suffered an above-average loss of 43.2 percent compared to 2007, while practically all major titles lost roughly the same amount compared to 2011.

Nouvelliste is the new number 1

In Western Switzerland, on the other hand, the trend is far less uniform (see charts "Development of advertising volume Big7 Western Switzerland" and "Change in advertising volume Big7 Western Switzerland "). The steep fall until 2009 and the subsequent short-term rise is mainly due to the discontinuation of Le matin bleu on September 21, 2009. The main beneficiaries of this were 24 heures and Tribune de Genève. However, as the further course of the curve shows, this was only a flash in the pan. Tribune de Genève then plummeted completely and is now in last place together with Le matin. Since 2007, it has lost no less than 1470 pages or 42.6 percent of its advertising volume. Of these, 400 pages (27%) were job advertisements. At 24 heures, 43 percent of the loss of 1305 pages is due to job advertisements. In 2007, the Vaud regional newspaper still had the second most advertising pages with 3,584 pages, just behind Le Temps. Now it has fallen back to fourth place. The relative loss of around 36 percent is exactly the same as for Le Temps, which still had the highest number of advertisements in 2007 with 3623 pages and last year, with 2323 pages, published exactly the same number of advertisement pages as 20 minutes, which has "only" lost 16.4 percent since 2007. The Valais Nouvelliste also lost less than average, with 2720 pages in 2012, clearly the largest advertising section of all the daily newspapers in French-speaking Switzerland. In 2007, however, it was still in fifth place. All titles in French-speaking Switzerland suffered a significant loss from 2011 to 2012, although in percentage terms, Le Temps lost significantly less than the other major titles.

20 Minuti holds a quarter

The development in Ticino is also interesting - especially after the launch of 20 minuti. As the chart "Development of advertising volumes in southern Switzerland" shows, there was an initial slump from 2008 to 2009, similar to that in German-speaking Switzerland. Compared to 2007, the loss was most pronounced at market leader Corriere del Ticino. Since then, it has lost almost 1,800 of its then 4,000 advertising pages. This corresponds to a drop of 45.2 percent. LaRegione and Giornale del Popolo each lost around 40 percent, which is probably roughly equivalent to the loss of Tre Top Ticino. Compared to 2011, La Regione lost more (41.3%) than Corriere (36%) - even though Corriere lost around twice as many pages of its significantly higher advertising volume. Giornale del Popolo was the least affected in both absolute and relative terms. Together, the three titles linked by an advertising combination lost 2,300 advertising pages compared to the previous year. The main reason for this is certainly 20 minuti, which had 1532 advertising pages in its first full year. This results in a market share of 26.3 percent. The new commuter paper thus leaves LaRegione (22.5%) and Giornale (14.1%) behind. Corriere is already visible on the horizon with 37.1 percent. However, it is rather unlikely that it will catch up with or even overtake it. This is because its reach of 24.5% (compared to Corriere's 42.7%) is still too weak, at least for the time being. However, if this is to be increased, the addition of Corriere (now including Giornale) will result in a higher CPM than the combination of all paid daily newspapers in Ticino (see MTJ 4/12, page 54).

Sunday: a quarter gone

There has also been movement in the Sunday newspapers since 2007. On September 16, 2007, the seventh edition of the Mittelland Zeitung (now Nordwestschweiz) was published for the first time under the name "Der Sonntag". And on September 7, 2008, a seventh edition of the Neue Luzerner Zeitung, Zentralschweiz am Sonntag, was launched for the first time. Despite these additional offerings, the advertising volume of all titles shrank by a total of 1996 pages or 26 percent (all figures excluding job advertisements). If the two new titles are excluded, there was a loss of 2670 pages or 36.1 percent. The losses of Le Matin Dimanche (-32.2%) and Il Cafè della Domenica (-30.4%) were only slightly lower. In German-speaking Switzerland, the new launches of Sonntag and Zentralschweiz am Sonntag practically coincided with the fall in advertising volume from 2008 to 2009 (see above). Between 2007 and 2009, the three titles with regional distribution lost around a third of their advertising volume or 1,853 pages. Since then, the situation has remained relatively calm. Only 207 additional pages have been lost. As the chart "Development of Sunday advertising volume in German-speaking Switzerland" shows, the Sonntags Zeitung has fallen from first to third place since 2007. It has lost more than half of its advertising volume in this period. The new market leader since 2008 is SonntagsBlick - despite losing over a third of its advertising volume. NZZ am Sonntag has lost the least at 31.4 percent (see chart "Changes in Sunday advertising volume in German-speaking Switzerland").

NZZ Group leads on Sunday

As a result of these different developments and the new regional titles, the market share of SonntagsZeitung fell from 33.2 to 20.5 percent and that of SonntagsBlick from 31.9 to 27.0 percent. NZZ am Sonntag suffered the least damage, falling from 25.4 to 22.9 percent. Together with its own Zentralschweiz am Sonntag, the NZZ Group even holds a third of the Sunday market (see chart "Sunday market shares"). And with the launch of Ostschweiz am Sonntag on March 3, this supremacy will increase further. At 10.5 percent, the decline for Zentralschweiz am Sonntag compared to the first full year (2009) is limited. Südostschweiz is still at the bottom of the table in the "second league". However, it is the only title to record more advertisements in 2012 than in 2007, although the trend has been slightly downwards again since 2010. This also applies to Sonntag, which has already lost 30 percent of its advertising volume compared to the first full year (2008). This raises the question of which of the two partners of the new "Schweiz am Sonntag" is the smaller one. Compared to its weak reach of just 2.4 percent, the title from Chur has an above-average number of advertising pages. It will be interesting to see how the announced merger of Sonntag and Südostschweiz am Sonntag will affect the advertising volume of the new Schweiz am Sonntag. More on this merger can be found in the next Advertising Week. <

 

This step is important for the future development of the magazine, which is published independently and without subsidies from churches or church-related institutions, Fabian Egger, managing director of Cat Medien, is quoted in the communiqué. The pair of terms life and faith covers exactly the profile of the magazine, but the expressions are today increasingly equated with pious, sectarian or fundamentalist. However, the magazine does not want to proselytize, but to clearly distinguish itself from this.

Over the past two years, Leben & Glauben has been able to maintain readership figures at around 50'000 readers per week. However, the readership and subscription figures could not be increased. Cat Medien Baden also publishes the Catholic-oriented counterpart Sonntag. At this magazine, readership figures rose by 16 percent in the last two and a half years to a current 101'000 readers. (SDA)
 

Adwebster has built up a solid basic digital network (display, branding, video) over three years and has long had a lot of mobile traffic on iPhones, iPads, Windows devices, Android phones and Blackberry devices. "However, this traffic has not yet been served, as the advertising market in Switzerland is only just emerging in this area," explains Patrick Stüssi, Head of Products at Adwebster.

All-screen network - on all mobile devices

The company deliberately took its time to launch the Adwebster Mobile Network, as it was important for Adwebster to build the entire network on the same tech stack in order to take full advantage of the "all-screen planning" approach that comes with it. This network architecture makes it possible to view mobile advertising not in isolation, but in the context of other online marketing measures such as stationary display advertising or video advertising. "In such a context, campaigns can be optimized very efficiently, which means the highest possible ROI for the advertiser."

Branding, targeting and video campaigns

In addition to the classic mobile branding campaign within premium theme channels, cross-channel reach campaigns can also be booked. The entire network is also video-enabled (VAST 2.0), and the delivery of TV ads can be coordinated with associated branding and/or reach campaigns. At the same time, Adwebster is introducing Switzerland's first integrated ROPO tool, a GPS marketing instrument called Smart Sale. "Smart Sale is the first integrated ROPO tool in Switzerland with state-of-the-art GPS tracking," says CEO Andi Nigg. "Smart Sale, a ROPO tool with GPS localization, is the new centerpiece of our mobile network," continues Stüssi. Smart Sale originates from the in-house "adwebster Lab", uses state-of-the-art GPS tracking technology and offers advertising customers the opportunity to track the success of the campaign at their own offline POS systems using real barcodes. Retailers and companies with chain stores can define individual promotions, discounts or vouchers for each store via XML feeds. Delivery takes place on all mobile devices and can be precisely defined for each store with a radius. The deviations in GPS tracking are only a few meters. Pan

 

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"With Smart Sale, we can measure how many offers have been redeemed at a store using a checkout scan."

Andi Nigg Adwebster is the largest advertising network in Switzerland for digital branding campaigns and video campaigns on all devices such as desktop PCs, cell phones and tablets. The NZZ Media Group holds a 49 percent stake in Adwebster, with founder and CEO Andi Nigg holding 51 percent of the shares.

WW: Smart Sale seems to be an innovative new product, yet many readers will wonder why Adwebster is trying to use ROPO to direct potential customers to "offline stores" instead of directly to an online store.
Andi Nigg: There is a great need on the part of advertisers to lead potential customers into a store. For some years now, concepts such as "couponing" or "daily deals" have been used in an attempt to make digital advertising usable for the real (offline) world. Smart Sale is more or less a further development of such approaches, with the difference that consumers are shown promotions directly via smartphones and other mobile devices (for example, if they are within 100 meters of store X) - and this across all portals on the largest digital advertising network in Switzerland with over 400 premium titles.
 
In which situation does this make sense?
It is not the case that online stores are always a substitute for offline stores. The shopping experience differs greatly in terms of quality, and for many products it makes no sense to buy them online. With "Research online - Purchase offline", Adwebster wants to show that the combination of digital advertising with an offline store network can be very efficient. A consumer who sees a smart sale promotion on the move is in a completely different situation to a user sitting in front of a computer in the office or at home. More impulse purchases can be generated via ROPO, as a potential customer is in the vicinity of a particular store and wants to benefit from a promotion. The shopping experience combined with an incentive is very important for this type of advertising.
 
For which customers is Smart Sale useful?
ROPO is of interest to any customer who operates a store network and wants to lead potential customers to the stores. This includes large retailers, fast food chains, electronics stores, DIY stores and furniture stores. These advertisers still spend the majority of their advertising budgets on promotional advertising in print media (inserts, promotional ads in newspapers) or distribute these via letterbox insertion. The regional focus is achieved through bookings in local print media (Anzeiger Stadt A, local newspaper Stadt B).
 
Where does Adwebster see potential for ROPO?
As the largest digital display and video network in Switzerland, we are of course aware that users from City A mainly consume national media (e.g. Blick, NZZ, Pro Sieben, Sat 1, etc.). With Smart Sale, promotional advertising can now be delivered on a national digital advertising network for the first time, but with very strong and precise local targeting via GPS technology. Different promotions can be used for each store; these are automatically imported via XML feeds and kept up to date live. We are convinced that promotional advertising via Smart Sale is very efficient and cost-effective. We therefore see enormous potential for our ROPO service.
 
And are smart sale campaigns really directly measurable for customers?
Yes, that's one of the big advantages over print ads. With Smart Sale, we can not only measure how often the advertisement was displayed and clicked on, but also how many offers were actually redeemed (via checkout scan) in one of the X or Y stores. And best of all: Smart Sale customers can track the success or ROI themselves via their own POS systems.
 
Does an advertising client need to have a mobile website created or other functions programmed?
No, we take care of all that for the advertising customer. We want Smart Sale to be as easy to use as possible without any additional effort. The customer hardly notices the technical integration and the effort involved. With a Smart Sale campaign, advertising customers also get a kind of "promotional app" for free.

Interview: Andreas Panzeri

He is considered a cool dog. One of the advertisers who could pass for a designer, says a former work colleague about Lukas Frei. He appreciates beautiful things and is also very interested in culture, says another. An exceptionally good AD, a quality fanatic, a thoroughbred creative. Top styled, with a pocketkerchief in the breast pocket of his jacket, Frei sits in his office on Förrlibuckstrasse. White in white, a small stereo system is placed on the large oval desk. At the moment, no music is playing. But when Frei is working, the small speakers provide a fine carpet of sound. Reggae, dub, rocksteady, lots of black music in general, but also classical music or alternative rock.
 
The former Creative Director of Jung von Matt/Limmat is to help Scholz & Friends Switzerland shine more creatively. In contrast to Germany, where the network is based and is one of the top creative addresses, Scholz & Friends has so far only partially succeeded in landing in Switzerland in creative terms. On the one hand, the agency, which was previously under German management, was not perceived enough as a Swiss address. On the other hand, the emphasis under former CEO Wolfgang Steinhaus was on consulting. The creative side of the business was a drag. Several changes at the creative helm were the result. With Martin Samsel, who moved from Jung von Matt/Limmat to Scholz & Friends a good year ago and took over as CEO in October, and Frei, who joined in November as managing director of creative, the turnaround is now to be mastered.
 
Frei and Samsel are a proven duo. For the past eight years, they have worked together on several clients at JvM/Limmat and previously collaborated at McCann Erickson Zurich. A consultant and a creative who get along well. Not a matter of course, says Frei with a smile.
 
Samsel is the strategist, the communicative consultant who likes to tell stories. Frei, on the other hand, is more reserved. Samsel describes him as a disciplined and committed creative who acts thoughtfully. He is always insanely well prepared for presentations, he says. A self-confident type who doesn't fall over at the first headwind, but remains steadfast and pursues his goal.
 
However, Samsel also paints the picture of a creative who likes to explore distant countries on his motorcycle and, in contrast to his well-planned everyday life, prefers to drift there - alone, independent, without plans or structure. When Frei is asked about this, he offers insight and begins to talk about his countless trips to the Caribbean. Not for too long, but he reveals that in his early 20s, after art school in Basel, he spent six months in Jamaica painting signs for bars and restaurants. Frei was taken with the vibe. The way people interacted with each other, how they made a lot out of little thanks to their creative improvisational talent. Be it in music, in their very own street style or in pragmatic business ideas to survive. A culture in which he immersed himself quite deeply.

But in essence, such adventures are among the things Frei doesn't like to flaunt. He likes to share them with friends. For others, he lets them shine through. For example, by noting "extensive travel" in his profile or "Jamaican patois" in his language skills. Frei and Samsel are two different characters who nevertheless have a lot in common. Not only when it comes to the orientation of the agency or the definition of quality. And that's exactly why they work so well together. "The total package is better than the sum of its parts," Frei says. Samsel is then also the reason why CD decided to leave JvM/Limmat, which meant a top address for him until the end. "I had reached a point where I was open to a new environment." With Samsel, he had been able to imagine starting his own agency for some time.

In a way, this has now become reality. The management team at Scholz & Friends has been completely restructured. At the same time, Samsel and Frei are taking over the agency in the knowledge that they have a strong international brand behind them. They maintain a collegial exchange with the German offshoots. For special tasks, they make unbureaucratic use of the power of the family network, especially the 35-strong strategy group or the specialists in CI/CD issues. But also the classic creation team, if necessary. Nevertheless, the agency, which is comparatively small by German standards with just under 50 employees, is valued by its large colleagues in the north, says Frei. "Our work is followed. We're not the little sister who has to be helped because she got hit in the head at the Chindsgi." Scholz & Friends has already seen its first successes in acquisitions since Frei's arrival. At the end of the year, the agency won the two-stage pitch from Engadin St. Moritz and is currently working on a summer campaign. It has recently worked for Credit Suisse, Sunrise, FC Basel, Opel and Emmi.

For the future, Frei would also like to have clients from the fashion and lifestyle sector, among others, for which he has a high affinity due to his past, when he worked for clients such as Max Shoes and Bucherer. Frei places the highest graphic and photographic demands on his work. In particular, the creative loves to evoke emotions with strong images. For Bucherer, he has staged "the most beautiful moments in life " lavishly and expressively, but with a playful lightness. For an SBB image campaign, he relied on the power of images and virtually dispensed with classic SBB elements. No logo, no trains, no tracks.

But for Frei, it's not just the creative output that counts, but also the environment in which the work is created. "At Scholz & Friends, I have the opportunity to create a culture for the first time," Frei is pleased to say. He wants a working atmosphere that is characterized by high quality thinking without losing sight of fun. He thus subscribes to the Scholz & Friends credo "tough on the job - friendly on the job." Frei believes that the commitment of employees is valued. Frei constantly reminds himself of what he himself can contribute to this. "It's partly small things, such as the feedback culture: when a presentation is over, I tell the team in detail how it went. Or I write another email in the evening. It's extremely important that the team gets signals like that." Promoting young creative talent is a major concern for Frei, who teaches at the ADC's BSW creative school on "how to deal with photography and photographers." Already at his last place of work, he has repeatedly been able to inspire talented people - from graphic design, among other fields - to pursue a career in advertising. He knows how to discover and build up creative talent.

In concrete terms, for example, Frei's promotion of young talent means that he ideally awards a wild card for a junior team on every job. The young creatives should contribute conceptually, not just be the extended arm of the AD or CD. "We want our graphic designers, junior copywriters and interns to be part of the daily business. This is an extra expense for the CD, but from my point of view it is a worthwhile investment. In addition, we will also be training a graphics apprentice starting this summer." Time and again, Frei wonders what it was like for himself back then, as an assistant and later as AD. What did he like about his superiors at the time, what bothered him? The creative tries to empathize with his employees, to respond to characters and to promote the creatives according to their abilities. "Some are more robust, others more sensitive. You have to take that into account. One AD is strong in concept, the other better in execution, works well with a photographer. You have to use people in a way that makes them feel comfortable." Samsel also talks about Frei having a sensorium to perceive the moods within a group. At the moment, Frei is busy, among other things, with the harmonious integration of the digital department into the company. He wants to put an end to the "garden-variety thinking" that sometimes occurs when advertisers with a traditional background meet online specialists. "The online unit should not act like a 'small company within the company' but be an integral part of the agency, so that an intensive knowledge transfer on both sides is a matter of course," says Frei. "This is already working excellently in the meantime."

Frei himself, who went through the classic agency route, is gradually continuing his education in digital media. For example, he attended the Hyper Island Masterclass in Digital Media in London. He studies cases from companies in order to have the right answers for questions that arise in daily life with customers. What does social media mean? What can it do, what can't it do? For which customer does which platform make sense, which doesn't?

In his private life, on the other hand, he uses social media restrictively, as is right for him. He is careful about his privacy. His posts on Facebook can be counted on one hand. After all, not everyone needs to know the next time he breaks away from his daily work routine and discovers distant countries for himself.
 
Isabel Imper

Photo: Isabel Imper

"We work best under deadlines," it says, for example. Or: "We know the mayor". The list of 10 reasons can be found on Newscastic.com. However, it is not a song of praise for the industry, but rather a call for social action, so to speak: "Do your bit to help our local press and sponsor a journalist," it says. And there are plenty of reasons to do so:

 

Some examples:
In the summer of 2012, the Newsnetz had an exclusive story. An article that neglected the simplest journalistic principles - the NZZ am Sonntag quoted the alleged maxim of the then editorial director Peter Wälty with the words "Shoot first, check later" - but it was a primeur. It was about a tweet - idiotic to say the least and at the same time extremely naive - by an SVP politician. This article then also led to the politician's personal grounding. Unpleasant. In order to somehow put things right, a two-page interview with the eager tweet writer appeared in the Tages-Anzeiger at the beginning of the year. The interview was conducted by editor-in-chief Strehle himself. Unusual and embarrassing.

Weltwoche then did not spare itself from publishing an article last week about Res Strehle's left-wing past. The front page shows Strehle in a thirty-year-old police photograph. In an illustration to the article, the weekly newspaper then made an embarrassing mistake, according to the NZZ am Sonntag: A picture did not show a former bomber as written, but a man with almost the same name, but who had nothing to do with explosives offenses. Questionable and embarrassing.

Sonntag newspaper asked Dominique von Burg, president of the Swiss Press Council, what he thought of the Strehle bashing. And he had nothing better to say than: "It is completely disproportionate to pillory Res Strehle in the way Weltwoche has done on its front page. For me, this is not permissible." The fact that he torpedoes the independence of the Press Council with these words doesn't seem to bother him. But at some point in the next few months, the Press Council will, after all, then have to issue a statement on the incriminated Wewo article. Naive and embarrassing.

Also extremely relevant were the articles about Ueli Maurer's sponsor Jäckli in Schladming, the protest of the Lucerne police about the latest crime scene episode and the alleged surreptitious advertising of stress on Swiss color television. So the article about the woman in New Zealand who died of Coca-Cola addiction is almost relevant, and the reader benefit is also clear: 10 liters of Coca-Cola a day are unhealthy.

Pierre C. Meier, Editor-in-Chief
[email protected]
 

The agency is to relaunch fresh pasta in German-speaking Switzerland. The first measures will be seen in the spring of this year.
 

For this year's "Only an advertisement can do that" competition, young creatives once again designed advertisements that promote their peers. 90 ideas were submitted, 6 of which were awarded prizes. The winning ads will be published in over 100 newspapers and magazines as part of the Swiss Media Association's generic marketing campaign - under the name of their creators. The works were judged by a jury consisting of creatives and clients, chaired by Andreas Prokesch, former president of the Art Directors Club (ADC). Michael Conrad could also be won as a jury member. Conrad is the founder and president of the Berlin School of Creative Leadership, an honorary member of the ADC, long-time creative director of Leo Burnett Worldwide and was president of the Cannes Lions jury. In an interview with Werbewoche, he talks about print advertising, the importance of creative awards for promoting young talent, awards and advertising in general.

 
WW: Michael Conrad, what prompted you to get involved with "Das kann nur ein Inserat" (DKNEI)?
Michael Conrad: I find daily newspaper advertising interesting. When I was asked to work for DKNEI, I said yes.
 
What is so exciting about newspaper advertising?
Most advertisements are skimmed over. Only a few produce something that is very important for advertisers: time. In contrast to television, where you buy time, advertisements can produce time.
 
How do print ads achieve this?
Just like an article in the newspaper. By offering something that is relevant to the reader, that captivates them. They have to make the reader engage with them.
 
In this regard, you once praised a text advertisement from Apple that explains iPhone apps (see side column). Why?
It's the kind of presentation we've seen many times before. A product is shown, individual parts are explained, the headline is to the point, but nothing special. An ad like this would never be chosen in a competition. But it works. After reading the ad, I downloaded two apps. On one flight, I was able to watch someone else read this ad in the newspaper and spend about 90 seconds on it.
 
Is it a problem if an ad that works in the market has no chance of winning an award?
That is a huge problem. There is a tendency in the advertising industry to want to win awards. There is nothing wrong with that per se. But it becomes problematic when advertisers withhold an ad from the client because they can't win an award with it. Agencies should first and foremost do what is right for their clients. And sometimes they win an award in the process.
 
Would it be a solution to adjust the awards?
A good awards show could allow jury members to submit good work themselves that has not been submitted. However, the organizers will not push this, as the awards are money machines. Every work that is sent in costs money. They won't want to take this money away. Apart from that, it would probably be difficult to practise if jury members were to suggest advertisements themselves. Then a lobbying activity begins.
 
Would awards criteria have to be adjusted so that an ad like Apple's would be submitted by the agencies?
That is tricky. The awards want to have as few criteria as possible. The jury members should give their opinion on what is good advertising. So it depends on the jury. If a jury takes into account the commercial value of an advertisement, the Apple ad would also score.
 
There are awards such as the Effie that give specific weighting to market success. How do you feel about this?
I think the Effie is good. I think it's important to reward work that has produced something spectacular and extraordinary in the market. But there is overlap between different competitions: Advertising that is recognized at the major awards also wins an Effie to a large extent.
 
You are involved in various competitions for young talent. How important are creative prizes for promoting young talent in general?
Awards for young talent are incredibly important. They drive excellence forward. The awards give young people the attention of people who have already achieved great things. It motivates them to do good work. That is "Encouragement". It's the same in advertising as it is in the film industry: a director or filmmaker who doesn't have the ambition to win an Academy Award shouldn't be working in the industry at all.
 
You don't describe the Berlin School of Creative Leadership as an advertising school. What is it then?
The school was founded to support great creatives who are placed in leadership roles or who place themselves in these roles.
 
You mean when an AD becomes a CD or a CD becomes a managing director ...
Exactly. Running a company is different from creating advertising. Especially because advertising agencies are not just any service companies, but creative companies.
 
What does this mean?
Great creatives work outside the norm. That's why agencies also need to find a place beyond the norm. TBWA, for example, has chosen "disruption" (editor's note: disruption, upheaval; comes from Jean-Marie Dru) as a criterion and has built up expertise around the idea. Positioning yourself outside the norm makes you competitive. The task of managers is now to lead their agency, their clients and partners to such a position. Agencies should not produce what clients would buy, but what clients need. The Berlin School teaches creative professionals the techniques to do this.
 
You advocate "crazy" advertising. How many agencies manage this?
The word "crazy" must not be misinterpreted. It doesn't mean crazy, it means moved away from the norm. Most agencies don't succeed in advertising like this. And very few do very well. Old Spice's advertising, for example, is absolutely brilliant. The same goes for Hornbach.
 
Who is responsible when advertising is not "crazy" enough: is it the agencies that lack the courage - or the clients who don't dare to use unconventional advertising?
I would say it's primarily up to the agencies. They have to agree in advance with their clients to go to a place that is fresh, that is unconventional. But clients are also responsible because they pay agencies less and less. The worst thing for agencies is when they have to sell something. Advertisers and clients have to work together to develop something new. Agencies have to find ways to break out of the cliché with their clients and create something of their own.
 
Last question: What advice would you give young creatives?
I encourage you to study unconditionally how to avoid clichés and to set yourself goals. That drives you forward. During my time at Leo Burnett, I developed a list of quality criteria that has been adopted by many agencies and also by a few universities (see side column.) The 10 criteria can be divided into three areas. You want to achieve the upper levels. Criteria 4 to 1 should be avoided: Clichés, work that is not competitive, destructive or frightening advertising. To avoid such publicity, you have to develop an innovative strategy and work excellently on the details. I advise young people to define criteria for themselves and to assess themselves every three months according to their criteria - and have them assessed. Then they will get ahead.

Interview: Isabel Imper